Fuel tanks on vehicles and other motorized equipments, such as, motorcycles, farm equipments, tractor-trailers, boats, and personal aircrafts, generally has a fuel tank cover that can be easily opened, and a removable gas cap when filling the fuel tank. In certain instances, the fuel tank cover may be locked by closing it with a latch, or with a key. To access the fuel tank, it can be opened by pushing the cover in, using a key to unlock the cover, or by simply pulling the cover out. In later model vehicles, the fuel cover may be opened by raising a lever or pushing a button inside the vehicle, or in certain instances, the vehicle must first be unlocked, then the operator pushes on the cover to open it. For example, fuel thieves merely open the cover by simply pushing it in, and if the vehicle or the mechanized equipments is a late model that requires the gas cover to be opened from inside, thieves pry open the cover forcefully, and then siphoning the fuel.
With the increase in the prices of gasoline and other fuels, theft through siphoning has become a common problem for automobiles and other motorized equipments. Unattended vehicles and other mechanized equipments are vulnerable to fuel theft, where thieves simply push on the cover of the fuel tank, remove the fuel cap, and use a hose to siphon valuable and expensive fuel.
There are a myriad of attempts in circumventing fuel siphoning. U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2012/0181275 (Bisaillon et al.) teaches an anti-siphoning device for fuel tanks, including an irremovable tubular body with an annular flange which is slidable into the neck of fuel tank for preventing insertion of a hose into the fuel tank. U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2008/0156800 (Mougenot) teaches an antitheft and anti-overflow device for a fuel tank, including a plunger formed of a cylindrical retractable filling tube. U.S. Pat. No. 8,281,947 (Walkowski et al.) teaches an anti-siphon device, including among other pieces incorporated into the fuel tank, a check valve that allows fluid flow into the tank, and capable of blocking fluid flow out of the tank. The characteristics that all of the above-mentioned inventions share in common is that the fuel tanks have to be re-engineered and re-constructed, thus, increasing the cost of acquiring such a system
Accordingly, there is a need for an ingenious, less-complicated and less-costly way of circumventing today's fuel theft problems.